Backpackers freed by Brazil High Court

Shanti Andrews and Rebecca Turner were arrested in July 2009 and convicted of insurance fraud. The pair were on a round the world trip when they claimed they had been attacked and robbed. They had their sentence of 16 months in prison reduced to community service after Brazil’s High Court overturned the convictions because the police had illegally obtained information to secure their arrest. (A hostel employee found the possessions they reported stolen hidden in their room but didn’t have a court order to perform a search).